Puddles
by Jncera
Summary: Collection of one-shots full of fluff and random humor. Complete summaries of each one-shot inside. DXS all the way. Newest fic - Pyrite. And WOW, nearly 50 Favs? You guys rock!
1. Summaries

_**Puddles**_

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Welcome! This is a collection of DannyxSam one-shots, full of fluff and random humor. They aren't related to each other, unless otherwise specified. Feel free to jump around, and enjoy!

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_Summaries_

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**Assumptions/Chocoholic** – (2-in-1) Do you know what everyone always assumes when a girl and a boy are together? And Danny finds Sam's chocolate-addiction to be extremely amusing and quite adorable.

**Siren** – Danny's late-night wandering around the house he, Tucker, and Sam share in college reveals something surprising—and lovely—about Sam.

**Candle** – The only thing worse than unrequited love is experiencing it on a lonely Valentine's Day.

**Loose Ends** – Part of Chapter 1 of my fic _Phantom Martyr_ before it was published, and reveals the conversation Danny and Sam have after flying off together at the finale of _Phantom Planet_.

**PhantomTV** – Danny answers questions from all his adoring fans, YouTube style, with some help (and hindrance) from Tucker, Sam, and a pesky unwanted house-guest.

**Warmth** – A vignette of Danny and Sam "walking in a winter wonderland".

**Phantom Phever** – What's better than spending a Saturday afternoon opening and reading fan-mail together? Well, nothing, as Danny and Sam will realize…

**Phantom Phever: Epilogue **- … as it's an afternoon both of them will never forget.

**Smile** – Sam is having a bad day, and Danny is will to try all sorts of silly things just to see her smile.

**Heat** – There's no way Sam is jumping into that pool, but Danny has other thoughts.

**PhantomTV: Episode 2** – The fan questions are still pouring in! This time, the whole gang is here to answer these random questions, and can't help but getting side-tracked once in a while.

**Pyrite** – A lunch conversation between Danny and Valerie years after graduating Casper High reveals that not all that glitters is gold.


	2. Assumptions and Chocoholic

Two one-shots from a deleted story I wrote years back. I stuck both of these together to make room for the Table of Contents.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom or Hershey's Chocolate.

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**Assumptions**

Suddenly, a truck pulled into the street and purposely swerved into a puddle near the sidewalk where both Sam and Danny were standing, splashing Sam in her face and hair. The guys in the truck cat-called as they drove by, earning a fierce glare form Danny and well-deserved gesture. The guy in the passenger seat stuck his head out the window and yelled, "Don't worry dude! Not gonna steal your girlfriend away!" and then howled with laughter along with the other guys in the truck. With that, the vehicle turned a corner and peeled away.

Danny, without turning around, knew full well what kind of vile and deadly expression Sam had on her face. She probably had already memorized the truck's license plate and was going to track it down and fuse a bomb to its engine in the middle of the night.

"Why is it that everyone automatically assumes that a girl and a guy hanging out alone is a pre-packaged couple?" Sam angrily spat out, wiping her face with her arm.

"Hmm, well you know," Danny turned around to face her. "They say that a guy and a girl can't be 'just friends' and not have feeling for each other unless one of them already has a girlfriend or boyfriend, is homosexual, or is very, very unattractive." Danny grinned. Hopefully she'll take that as a joke. Somehow her boots looked extra-sharp with water glistening on it. But she kind of looked really hot with wet hair…

Sam just stared at Danny with lowered eye-lids, and smirked. She slowly walked over to Danny, and draped an arm over his shoulders. "Well Danny," she purred as she leaned in, "We have been best friends for many, many years." She paused, looked into his sky-blue eyes, and seductively licked her lips.

Danny was sure had had just been struck by lightning. _What's going on? Did I…is she…going to…kiss me?_ A hopeful bubble started growing in his chest. He could see the tiny rivulets of water running down her smooth skin. The sight gave him goosebumps.

Sam leaned in closer. The bubble in Danny's chest started swelling, and he could feel his heart pounding in his head.

Sam's lips parted and she tilted her head, leaned closer to his ear and whispered, "So, I guess that makes you all three."

The bubble burst.

Sam stepped back, laughing. She jumped into a nearby puddle, splashing them both. She then stuck out her tongue at him, and ran off.

"You tease!" shouted Danny, bringing his arms to shield himself from the water, and then quickly ran after her, "I am so going to get you back!"

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**Chocoholic**

Danny watched as Sam ate 1, 2, 3, 4 Hershey's Kisses in a row, crumpling the wrappers into a ball and putting them in a neat row on her nightstand. It was a lazy rainy morning, and both were lying on Sam's bed, still in their PJ's. Sam was immersed in a horror story, while Danny was just staring out the window. And sometimes at Sam. Okay, most of the time at Sam.

"Wow, didn't know you were a chocoholic," he remarked, "I thought all girls stayed away from sweets like the plague. Some health regulation…"

Sam looked up from her book and glared at him, "Oh yea? I like to see you come between me and my Hersheys'!"

Danny laughed, "I'm just glad you're not wearing that amulet of Aragon." His voice deepened, imitating the dragon-ghost, "Must have chocolate! Need more calories! Roar!"

Sam threw a pillow at him, "Oh shut up! I should have smoked you when I had the chance!"

"Yeah, who knew that you really did throw fire like a girl?" Danny smirked and earned another direct connection with a pillow. "Ahhh! This mean war!"

He lunged at Sam with another pillow, and soon feathers were flying everywhere. It was a classic pillow-fight scene: two teens in their PJ's standing precariously on a bed, laughter and feathers twirling around—it was a picture-perfect snow-globe.

Danny soon gained the upper-hand and managed to trip Sam. She fell onto the bed with a surprised cry, sending up an explosion of feathers. Danny landed on top of her, caging her in with his legs and arms. Both were breathless. The violent storm of feathers relented from their dance and gently floated around the two friends like fairies, landing in their hair and clothes.

Danny gazed at the girl trapped below him. Sam was breathing fast and her cheeks were flushed, giving them an endearing pink glow. He had to wrestle off the sudden urge to kiss her.

Sam's heart was beating fast, both from the pillow fight, and from the anticipation of her and Danny's current position. He was looking down at her with a tender but hungry look in his eyes, and her heart couldn't help but swell at how goofy and cute he looked with tiny white feathers in his raven hair.

Danny smiled. "I guess that finally burned off those calories you gained from all that chocolate. You're now safe to binge some more." He finished with a playful wink.

Sam huffed and put her hands up to his chest. "And you, Mr. South Beach Diet, look like you just got in a fight with a chicken, and lost." She gave a violent push and Danny tumbled off her, grinning.


	3. Siren

I don't own Danny Phantom, the movie Elektra, "Firework" by Katy Perry, or "Breathe No More" by Evanescence. I highly recommend all those that haven't heard "Breathe No More" go Youtube it before or while you read this story :)

I wrote this in like…15 minutes.

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**Siren**

"OH BABY YOU'RE A FIIIIIIIIIIIIREWORRRK!"

Danny slammed his head against his desk. Maybe if he kept slamming, he'll knock himself out. At least when unconscious, he won't be able to hear Tucker singing in the shower. Why did he ever think it was a good idea to room with Tucker and Sam during college? No, actually, it was a great idea—probably the best decision of his life, but why did the two bedrooms that he and Tucker occupied have to be on one end of the house, along with the shared bathroom, while Sam got the master bedroom at the _other_ and _quieter_ end? Oh wait, that's right, because her parents bought this stately home.

And because, Sam reasoned that it would be safer for everyone in the entire universe if she didn't have to be the one tortured by Tucker's singing. Sam didn't need ghost powers to unleash a serious butt-kicking.

"COME ON SHOW EM WHAAAT YOU'RE WOOOOOOOORTH!"

Danny sighed. Tucker really was showing everyone what he was worth, and right now the price to be paid was a pounding headache. Danny had tried everything in the past to drown out his friend's voice—loud music, ear-plugs, loud music and ear-plugs… but somehow the noises coming out of Tucker's throat still found a way to penetrate all his defensive shields. That's probably what you get for having the room right next to the shower.

He pushed his chair back and walked out of his room, wincing slightly as he passed the bathroom.

"MAKE EM GO OH OH OHHHHHHHHH!"

_More like make 'em go UGH UGH UGGGGHHHHH_, thought Danny. He turned the hallway and emerged in the family room that was connected to the dining room and kitchen. The house really was huge, even if it only did have three bedrooms. He grabbed a soda from the stainless-steel talking fridge ("Have a nice night, Mr. Fenton." He could never figure out how it recognized everyone. Or why it needed to talk. What's the purpose of a talking fridge? It totally creeped him out), and wandered past the wine-bar to the formal dining room, which consisted of a billiards-table. ("Who needs two dining rooms? What are we, old folks who entertain people with our Tupperware parties?" said an exasperated Sam when they first moved in.) He was about to just sit down at one of the couches in the dimly-lit living room, when a beautiful sound caught his attention.

…_if I try to touch her and I bleed…_

It was a song, coming from behind the closed double-doors of Sam's room on the other side of the living room. Was Sam also blasting music to drown out Tucker? You couldn't really hear him all the way here though. Danny decided to go visit her. At least in her room you couldn't hear an inkling of Tucker's nightly shower opera.

_I bleed…And I breathe…I breathe…no more…_

Danny paused in mid-gulp of his soda. He knew that song. It was on that one movie's soundtrack…Elektra. But somehow it didn't sound like the actual song…

_Take a breath and I try to draw from my spirit's well…_

For one thing, there was no background music…it was just a voice. And the voice…it sounded all-too familiar. Danny crept closer to stand right in front of the closed doors.

_Yet again you refuse to drink like a stubborn child…Lie to me, convince me that I've been sick forever…_

Danny jumped in realization, nearly choking on his soda. It was Sam! Sam was singing! And… her voice was gorgeous.

_And all of this will make sense when I get better…_

Danny's jaw dropped. He had never heard Sam sing. He didn't even know Sam _could_ sing. He didn't even know Sam was the whimsical singy-song type. But then again, this song was exactly whimsical…

_But I know the difference…between myself and my reflection and I can't help but to wonder…which of us, do you love?_

Chills ran down Danny's spine as Sam hit the highest and purest note in the song. He felt frozen. He was frozen with awe, frozen at discovering something completely new, frozen with the incredible realization that this heavenly voice that sounded like an angel…belonged to Sam. Sam! His best-friend since second grade! And the girl he's had a crush on ever since.

_So I bleed…I bleed…And I breathe…I breathe no…bleeeeeeeed…._

Danny thought he was going to have a heart-attack as Sam sang the last word, a perfect rise in pitch that reached into his very soul. Sam finished the rest of the song, hitting every note, and somehow also hitting Danny with a jolt of heart-zapping chills with every word. After Sam stopped singing, Danny just stood there, leaning against the door, staring at the floor but not really seeing it. Only at the sound of the shower doors opening and closing did Danny jumped back to reality. He quietly returned to his room (thankfully Tucker was also done with his shower), and sat on his bed. _Wow…that was…amazing._

After that night, it became a secret routine for Danny to listen in on Sam singing in the shower. Sometimes she would sing, and sometimes she would hum, but every night Danny couldn't help but be hypnotized by the sound of her voice carving out delicate notes. And with every night and with every song, Danny fell more and more in love with Sam.

What was that one folklore about sirens luring entire ships into the sea with their songs? _Oh well…_


	4. Candle

Disclaimer: Do not own Danny Phantom :'(

I really should be working on my thesis, but this is so much more fun. Plus I have all night. Red Bull ftw.

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**Candle**

Sam lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling lamp. She shut her eyes and continued to stare at the glowing green ghost of the light, dancing behind her eyelids.

It was nearly nine o'clock at night, and she had an essay due tomorrow, but it was just one of those nights, when she didn't feel like doing anything. Except lay there and burn holes into her retinas.

It was one of those nights, when despite being strong-willed, all Sam wanted to do was the crawl into the dark space under her bed and shut out the world for days. She didn't want to punch things; anger was far away. She didn't want to cry into her pillow; even tears couldn't cleanse her. All she felt was despair… dark gloomy cloudy foggy heavy despair.

Because after all these years of liking Danny—loving Danny—he still could not return the feeling.

Sam glared at the lamp. She hated feeling this weak. She hated not being in control. She hated feeling needy. She was _strong_; she was a _leader_; and she was _independent_, damn it! She was Sam! She was the Sam who didn't care what other people said or did because she knew their thoughts didn't matter; she had confidence; she had pride; and mainly she had _strength_. She was a tiger! She was a fierce, fiery tiger that could charge at anything in life!

_Then why do I feel like a tired, hungry, cold kitten abandoned in the streets during a thunderstorm… ?_

Sam flipped over to lie on her side, eyes now staring at nothing in particular.

_Danny_.

Love is supposed to be wonderful. Love is what saves princesses from poison apples and evil curses. Love is what makes heroes do stupid things but end up saving the world anyways. Love is supposed to make you feel whole, absolute, glowing, smiley, laughy-giggly-butterfly-chocolate-chip-cookie-ice-cream-sundae-cuddly-wuddly.

If only love was so black and white. You can love someone, but that doesn't mean they will love you.

Love is also heartbreak. Heartbreak is sorrow. Heartbreak is pain. Heartbreak is hopelessness. Heartbreak is the feeling of being a tired, hungry, cold kitten abandoned in the streets during a thunderstorm.

_I should just give up. It's over. It's over before it really began. How could I have been so stupid and naïve to fall for my best friend who could and would never see me as anything more than a best friend? Why are the fates so cruel to torture me with something I could never have? _

Oh, and today was also Valentine's Day.

Which was why it hurt all that much more. Sam's opinion of Valentine's Day was disdain similar to her ire about Ember, or anything that's been wrapped with commercial and corporate bubble-gum. Valentine's Day has turned into a consumer-holiday for the materialistic.

But deep down, Sam was still a girl with a crush, and like any girl, she was always hopeful for something on Valentine's Day. Maybe a card, or a single red rose. And not just any card, or any rose, but a card or rose from Danny.

But every Valentine's Day in the past, Sam had watched Danny place a single rose on Paulina's front steps, ring the door-bell, and run away. And every year, Paulina would open the door to find the rose with a card that simply read, "Happy Valentine's Day, Love Danny Phantom". Then Paulina would swoon and smile, but then promptly forget, and just add the rose to her bouquet of overflowing presents from her overflowing admirers. It infuriated Sam beyond belief that Danny—the boy she adored—would waste his time on that pathetic result of millions of years of evolution.

And was so blinded that he couldn't see what was right before him this entire time.

Sam sighed and plucked herself out of bed, running a finger beneath each eye to wipe away traces of mascara. Moping was useless. It would get her nowhere…not that she was going anywhere with anything anyways. She collapsed in the chair in front of her computer, and sighed. _I wish this essay would just write itself._

Then suddenly, the doorbell rang. The sudden noise made Sam jump, breaking her out of her melancholy reverie. Slightly annoyed at whomever was daring to disturb her rare moment of silent self-pity, Sam slowly got up. Her parents and grandma were out, so Sam dragged her feet down the stairs into the foyer, and tiredly opened the door. She was greeted with a blast of chilly February wind, and the presence of… no body.

_Great. Ding-dong ditchers._

Sam was about to slam the door closed when something white on her doormat caught her eye. She reached down and picked up the object, and was all of a sudden at a loss of words or thoughts.

It was a single red rose, carefully wrapped in white tissue paper, with the corner of a light-pink card poking out.

Sam, still silent and shocked, stepped inside. She leaned against the closed door and slid to the floor, clutching and staring at the rose. Slowly she removed the card and opened it, reading the messy and hurried handwriting of the boy she knew since second grade.

_Hey Sam,_

_We both know I'm not the best with words, and I don't know how else to say this, but I like you. I really _really_ like you, and I'm sorry for not telling you sooner but I didn't want to lose our friendship, but after all these years and after all we've been through I can't just ignore this anymore. I'm not sure if you feel the same way, but I hope you do, so please give me a call if you still want to talk to me. If not, that's okay, I understand. _

_Happy Valentine's Day._

_Love (it feels so good to say this) love love love, Danny_

Sam couldn't feel the cold seeping through her from the icy marble floor and wooden door. She couldn't feel anything at all, except an overwhelming crescendo in happiness like she's never felt before. It rushed at her like the wind when the windows rolled down as you're careening at 85 miles per hour down the freeway. It completely knocked the breath out of her. She read and re-read the card over and over, taking it all in, wondering if this was all a dream. She picked up the red rose and brought it to her face, burrowing her nose in the silky petals and breathing in its calming scent. And then she smiled for the first time that day. _Danny likes me. Really _really_ likes me._

Sam picked herself off the floor, and still holding the rose and card, ran up the stairs. She placed the rose on her bed, the card on her nightstand, and the memory in her heart. Then, she picked up the phone to dial the number she's memorized by heart since second grade. Immediately, someone picked up.

"Hello?" It was Danny. He had been waiting nervously by the phone ever since he flew away from Sam's front door.

"Hey…" softly replied Sam, still beaming, "So…I got your rose and the card…"

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_You can't extinguish a flame that's meant to burn forever…_


	5. Loose Ends

_**Update**_: I've started a chaptered fic based on this one-shot. It's titled "Phantom Martyr". Go check it out and tell me what you think! Thanks!

Events following Phantom Planet.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

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**Loose Ends**

Danny and Sam sat on a hill overlooking the city hall and the setting sun, and watched as Tucker—make that Mayor Tucker—presented the statue of Danny Phantom to the crowd.

"I can't believe you didn't want to attend your own ceremony," Sam spoke.

"Ehh," Danny replied, "You know me, I kind of like sitting on the sidelines sometimes." The two smiled, remembering their previous argument, but glad that it was all forgiven.

"And your folks are cool with knowing your secret identity?"

"Yeah, the time for secrets is over. The world is safe—time for new beginnings. My dad even says he wants me to team up with _him_ now—says I can be _his_ sidekick." Danny let out a small laugh, getting a fleeting mental image of him in an over-sized orange jumpsuit.

Sam paused. "You're a big star now. Probably the biggest in the world…"

"Yea, it's weird huh." Danny's smile got bigger. That was a non negotiable side-effect of saving the world, after all.

"You'll probably get pretty busy…"

"What else is new?"

"And…I probably won't see much of you anymore…" Sam looked sadly away.

"Aww I wouldn't count on that." Danny had been waiting for this moment ever since the world was saved, but it was hard to be alone with just Sam after all that press and media chaos of revealing his secret identity. He really didn't like the spot-light, but he guessed it was necessary and the world was curious, but all he had wanted was to be alone with his family and friends, especially Sam. He pulled out the ring that was always meant for only one girl from the very beginning, and took Sam's hand.

"Sam, I could have never have done any of this without you." Even though he had rehearsed this conversation a million times in his head, there were still nervous tremors coursing through his veins. Danny slipped the ring onto Sam's finger, "And I don't care what's coming next. I… just hope that whatever it is, you're there to share it with me."

Tears immediately sprung to Sam's eyes, and she smiled through them. _I can't believe this is actually happening._ She quickly wiped the tears away and looked at Danny. "I will be." She paused, and then added while putting her hands on her hips, "I just have to warn you, I'm no pushover you know. I still have my own way of doing things."

Danny took her hands again and smiled. _That's my Sam._ "_That's_ what I'm counting on."

He stared into Sam's violet eyes, surprised that after all these years, they were still hypnotizing and by far the loveliest eyes in the world. He pulled Sam closer and they kissed for the second time—for real, no more fake-out-make-outs, no more wishing and hoping and praying, no more pretending while under spells—they were finally together. No more being clueless, shy, confused, jealous, frustrated, or heartbroken. After all that time of chasing Paulina and Valerie, Danny finally realized that everything he wanted and more was always right there next to him, encouraging him, fighting with him, and being his best friend. He _had_ been clueless. Their last kiss in Antarctica had a tone of farewell and sadness, and desperate longing. It had been quick because time was slipping away and the sharp jab of reality screamed for attention. Tonight's kiss however, stopped time and reality—it was only Danny and Sam under the blooming stars in a still purple sky. The kiss burned with intensity and passion, but most importantly, it was the start of a continuous flame of a conclusion finally met, and of a new beginning.

Danny and Sam slowly pulled away from the kiss and smiled. _Wow. They were right. Fireworks._

Danny stood up and transformed into a ghost and reached from Sam's hand. "What do you say; want to go for a ride? See where the future takes us?"

"Why not?" Sam stood up and allowed herself to be picked up, and Danny launched into the sky. They flew across City Hall and both gazed down at the statue of Danny Phantom.

"Cool statue," Sam smiled as she looked up at Danny, "Personally, I would have made it out of recycled materials, but, you know, that's just me."

Danny laughed, "You're not going to protest my own statue, are you? There's oh…only about a couple hundred around the world."

Sam kept smiling but didn't say anything. She was busy enjoying watching Amity Park from high in the sky in Danny's arms. She wrapped her arms around his neck tighter and snuggled into his chest.

Danny's heart couldn't help but skip a beat. Or jump a mile. He tilted his head to Sam's and breathed in her scent—a soft mixture of lavender and something else—that charmed all his senses. "You know," he finally spoke, "they really ought to have made a statue of you and Tucker too. And of Jazz. And of my parents. Because honestly, without any of you guys, there would be no Danny Phantom. Or at least, the Danny Phantom that saved the world."

"How many more trees do you want to kill?"

"I believe the statues are made of stone. But we could just make yours out of newspapers and pizza boxes and tofu."

"Tucker would want his to be made of steak and ham and the flesh of other innocent animals."

"My dad would want his to be wearing an orange jumpsuit."

"Jazz won't ever stop trying to study the psychological effects of someone having a statue in every capital in the world."

"And Vlad won't ever stop drooling over my mom's statue."

"Speaking of Vlad," Sam continued to gaze around the city, but this time she was attempting to glimpse a sign of the previous mayor/evil super villain, "What do you think happened to him?"

"Ehh," Danny chuckled, "He's probably sitting on some asteroid being a free-roaming space nomad."

"Sucks to be him! He really can't come back to earth anytime soon, with everyone knowing his secret identity and how he utterly and completely failed to save us while receiving the ire of every single nation." Sam paused, "I guess there's always the ghost zone?"

Danny tried his best imitation at Klemper's voice, "Vlaaaaad, will you be my frieeeeeend?" and started laughing, along with Sam.

Sam pitched her voice lower and waved her arms around, "Beware! For I am the box ghost! Fear my 100% recycled post-consumer cardboard boxes with Jack Fenton's face on them!"

Danny couldn't stop laughing. "Okay, that part about the '100% recycled post-consumer boxes' was all you! The Box Ghost would never say that!"

"Well, he should! And he should start using only recycled boxes."

"He's dead. Somehow I don't think he really cares."

The sky overhead was now completely dark blue, penetrated by twinkling stars and a perfect full moon that washed the world with a soft pearly glow. Danny landed at the entrance of Amity Park, and transformed back to his human self while gently putting Sam down. They took each other's hand and started walking through the park. It felt so new to have their fingers intertwined, yet so also familiar at the same time. The park was deserted, and the only sounds that could be heard were the occasional distant bark of a dog or a lone car traveling past the park. After weeks of chaos, the peace was like a refreshing glass of water after a drought.

Memories surfaced as the pair walked around. Danny pointed to an open field, "That's where we had the picnic before the Box Ghost unleashed Pandora's box!"

"I still can't believe Tucker's afraid of snakes. What's wrong with snakes? They're cool!" Sam replied, and then pointed to a hill in the distance, "Hey, and that's where you attempted to train Cujo the ghost dog before Valerie attacked."

"Ah Cujo. He was kind of cute, but only when he was in his puppy form," Danny said as he pointed to an area of dense bushes, "And that, was where we had our first fake-out-make-out." He stopped walking and wrapped both arms around Sam's waist, pulling her closer. "I kind of really enjoyed it."

Sam wrapped her arms around Danny's neck, and leaned in, "I enjoyed all our fake-out-make-outs." _Gosh he is so adorable. Look at those blue eyes. I could lose myself forever in those blue eyes, like drowning in an ocean, and by ocean, I mean his arms. And look at that smile. And those lips—_

Danny closed the gap between them and kissed her. _Will my head ever stop spinning whenever I do that?_

"No need for the fake-outs anymore," Danny whispered into Sam's lips.

Sam smiled and pulled Danny towards the grass. She lied down, put her arms behind her head, and gazed upwards at the stars, with Danny following next to her. They were both glad that none of the sparkling jewels in the velvet sky were hurtling down towards earth anymore, and lay in peaceful silence for a while.

Sam spoke first, "Did you still have some things you wanted to talk about? I…I'm still willing to listen."

"What?" It took a while for Danny to figure out she was referring to their conversation in Antarctica, "Oh. Umm… Well, I was going to say that I like you, and have for a very long time…but I guess the kiss spoke for itself." He smiled, remembering. It was a bold move, but one that he was very glad to have made.

"Wait, for how long?"

"Umm," Danny ran his fingers through his hair in nervousness. This part he hadn't thought about rehearsing, "When we danced together at the school dance last year. You were… stunning. I couldn't help but see you in a new light. And that fear of almost losing you when you turned into a dragon… that was terrifying. I realized I never ever wanted to lose you because you meant so much more to me…"

He turned and Sam met her eyes.

"Really? That long ago?"

"Really really."

"But you still went after Paulina and Valerie…"

Danny sighed. "Those were small crushes that never lasted very long anyways. Sam you were my best friend. I…didn't want to jeopardize our friendship. And I didn't think you would ever like me back…"

Sam smiled. "Clueless!"

"Well, especially after the whole Gregor…Elliot…thing. I saw what kind of guy you liked, and I had nooo idea how I would ever be that type. I still don't know why you like me…I mean, I'm not goth, I eat meat, I didn't have a cheesy pick-up line involving spaghetti when I kissed you, I-" Danny was cut short by Sam leaning over, grabbing the back of his head, and pulling him into a deep kiss. _Again with the head-world-spinning-thing!_

"True, you're none of those things," said Sam, when they finally pulled apart, "But you're Danny. You're a hero; you're _my_ hero. And _that's_ my type."

They stared at each other for a moment, smiling. "So," spoke the halfa, "How long have _you_ liked me?"

Sam leaned back into the grass, "Umm…since…forever?"

"Really?"

"Really really." Sam chuckled.

"And you never told me?"

"For the same reason you didn't do anything either: didn't want to ruin our friendship. And plus you were always going after Paulina and Valerie! I thought maybe you only liked shallow, insecure, annoying, popular, murderous girls."

"Have you felt how hard you can kick in those boots, Sam? I think you qualify as murderous!" Danny laughed and brought his arms up to shield his face from Sam's light punch.

"But seriously," continued Sam, "There were moments when I was close to telling you…like before you went to go fight with Pariah Dark, and the Ecto-Acne incident—"

"We had the same dream."

"What?" Sam sharply turned her gaze to Danny, who was staring at the sky.

"We had the same dream. When Frightmare attacked Amity Park."

Sam paused. "You mean… we both dreamt that…" She stopped and blushed.

Danny laughed nervously and turned to look at Sam. "Yeah. We both dreamt that we were together at school and about to kiss."

Sam grinned. "Weird. Gateway to the subconscious huh." That was a really good dream…minus the part about Dash Baxter being Danny Phantom.

"Speaking of school," spoke Danny, "I wonder what it's going to be like when we go back next Monday."

"Lots of autograph-asking."

"Lots of 'lovebirds'-calling."

"Lots and lots of questions."

"Think you can handle the fame, super-star?"

"Only if you and Tucker are next to me sharing the agonizingly bright spot-light!"

"So you're the world's hero, Tucker's our mayor, and I'm—"

"The luckiest girl in the world," Danny reached out his arm and snaked his way under Sam's neck, and then wrapped it around her torso, pulling her onto his shoulder. Sam was at first shocked by the closeness, but smiled and snuggled closer, wrapping her free arm around Danny's chest. She was pleasantly surprised at how muscular he had gotten from all the fighting.

"You know how many girls are going to fawn over me, hero of the world and best looking halfa in the universe?" Danny sucked in air and puffed out his chest in mock superiority, which received a jab from Sam's finger, and he promptly deflated, laughing. Again, she was surprised at how hard his muscles were. That jab almost hurt her finger—almost.

"Great, so while you're chasing away ghosts I have to chase away crazed fan-girls?"

"What, don't think you can handle a bunch of screaming, hormone-driven, fanatic females?" Danny suddenly got an image of the girls from last year's Happy Princess Pageant chasing after him, threatening to claw his eyes out with their perfectly manicured nails…followed by an image of Sam holding an Ecto-Bazooka, taking deadly aim with an evil grin on her face. _Oh, that's hot._

"Ha!" Sam laughed with a menacing tone, "there's a joke if I ever heard one. You know full well I'm capable of obliterating anything I desire, especially if it comes between me and you. You know I still have my Fenton Wrist-Ray."

Danny hugged Sam closer to him, "I love it when you're deadly."

And so the night passed, as calm and comforting as a silken sheet, punctuated only by the conversations and laughter of the star-crossed lovebirds. Sometime during the night, Sam realized it was hard not to stop smiling when she was with Danny, especially now that everything seemed to be going perfectly. Time also flew. She glanced at her watch for the first time that night and started, "Oh my gosh, it's nearly midnight! We should get going before we're skinned alive by our parents, hero or not."

Danny yawned and stretched, as Sam sat up. "Alright, I'll fly you home."

"Normally a guy walks the girl home," Sam started as Danny transformed into his ghost-half and picked her up like earlier, "But this is way cooler."

Danny deepened his voice to imitate his hero-half and he shot into the sky, "That's what happens when you have a world-renowned super-hero as your boyfriend!"

"Oh, shut up," chuckled Sam.

* * *

Again, this is part of Chapter 1 in my newest fic "**Phantom Martyr**". Go to my profile to access it :]

Please review! And I will send you cookies via telekinesis!


	6. PhantomTV

**PhantomTV**

Set in same setting as "Siren" (Danny, Sam, & Tucker going to college and living together in a house). YouTube video style!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom characters, or Youtube, or Twitter, or Facebook.

* * *

"Wassup everyone," Danny's face, glowing from his bright smile and the computer screen, appeared. Behind him, a lamp off-screen dimly lit a large bedroom, where vague shapes could be made of dark draperies over a window, some posters on the walls, and the corners of a large bed. "This is Danny Fenton aka Danny Phantom, here in my lovely girlfriend's bedroom because Tucker is currently in the shower, which means he's singing, which means you all probably won't be able to hear a word I'm saying if I stayed in my room! Say hi to everyone Sam!"

Danny swiveled the desk chair and adjusted the laptop slightly to show Sam lying on her stomach on the bed behind him, her head propped up by one arm and clicking through her laptop with the other. She gave a half smile and small wave at the camera.

"Anyways," Danny's face returned to the screen, his eyes burning even more blue from the glow of the screen, "As promised, I will be taking the time right now to read through my Twitter, and answer as many questions that you guys have asked this week as possible." His eyes strayed from the camera for a few seconds and clicks could be heard as he opened up an internet browser window. "Okay let's get this started…" He paused as he signed onto his Twitter.

Danny looked back at the webcam, "Okay, first question—" He paused and frowned, and looked somewhere to his right, "Sam, what's that buzzing sound?"

Sam's audible groan could be heard, "Ugh. I think it's a fly. I'll get the fly-swatter…"

Danny turned back to the camera and said with a grin, "Wait, I thought you're against animal cruelty?"

"I don't like flies…" Sam's voice trailed off as she opened the bedroom door and made her way into the hallway.

"And yet she likes spiders," whispered Danny into the camera, raising an eyebrow, "Anyways, first question! 'What's it like being famous?'" Danny leaned back and looked off to the side as he searched for his words, "Um, it's actually pretty inspiring. I know that sounds cheesy, but it's pretty incredible to always know that there's someone out there that's thinking of me at any given second, and that I've inspired so many kids and teens and probably adults to do more good in the world. Also," Danny laughed, "it's a bit bewildering! I mean, from being the freshman that got picked on or ignored in high school to someone with… fans! But I'm still doing what I've been doing… so yeah, it's been quite a trip…"

Sam walked into the background, holding a fly swatter. She stood beside her bed, poised and listening. Danny noticed her on his screen and turned around. "You look menacing," he said with a grin, "If I were that fly, I'd be terrified."

"I think it flew in here to seek refuge from Tucker's singing," replied Sam, ignoring Danny's comment and slowly making her way across the room to the window to check behind the blinds.

Danny laughed, and turned back to the screen, "Okay, anyways, question number two! 'If you could be any item in a bathroom, what would you be and why?'" In the background, Sam could be heard chuckling.

Danny snorted, "Wow. Never been asked _that_ before, ever. Hmmm, I would probably choose…" Danny leaned towards the camera and cocked an eyebrow, "An air freshener, because I'm so fresh! Ohhhhhhh!" He leaned back and laughed at his wittiness.

"Ugh, you sound like Tucker," came Sam's voice somewhere behind Danny.

Danny kept laughing as he clicked for the next question, "Question numero…three! 'If you didn't have ghost powers, what would you probably be doing now instead?' Well, first of all, I wouldn't be making this video. Actually, we probably all wouldn't be here, because the Earth would have been blown up by that…what was it called again? Disasteroid?

"Next question reads, 'What was the most difficult ghost you've fought?' Hmm, probably Plasmius, aka Vlad Masters. I've been able to thwart all his plans, but other circumstances…such as when he used to be Mayor…made it difficult to actually _defeat_ him, or um… get him locked up somewhere. I mean," Danny twirled his finger by his head to make the crazy symbol, "he _was_ kind of a fruit-loop."

The fly suddenly flew between Danny and the screen, startling him into waving his arms around frantically, "Sam! This fly won't leave me alone!" The video cuts off and resumes with Danny running his fingers through his unkempt black hair, "Sorry about that guys… we had a barbeque this afternoon so it probably got in through an open door. Anyways, question numero…cinqo! 'Can you do the dougie?'" Danny laughed, "I can't dance to save my life!"

"You can moonwalk though," pointed out Sam, still honing in on the pesky fly, "but that's about _all_ the dancing you can do. So all you ladies out there can forget about asking him to go to dances or clubs, unless you want him to moonwalk the entire time."

"Thanks Sam…"

"Yup, anytime!" Sam replied in the same sarcastic tone as Danny's.

"Anyways," continued Danny, "'If you could switch places with anyone you know for a day, who would it be, and what would you do?' Um, the cat next door so I could sleep and eat all day." From the bottom corner, Tucker's head slowly bobbed up and down, and then disappeared with a peal of laughter. Danny frowned, confused, and turned around to pretend to swat Tucker out of the way. "Go make yourself useful Tuck, and find that fly."

Tucker appeared on the screen, pointed down, and said, "You mean the one that's on my—" Only to be cut off, and Danny reappeared sans-Tucker, and looking comically vexed.

"Anyways, before I was so rudely interrupted—"

"Hi ladies!" Tucker pushed Danny's chair, and he slid off-screen with a surprised exclamation of beeped out curse words, "I'm still single! Follow me on Twitter! Catch me on Facebook! Hit me up on—" The video cut off again, and Danny's face reappeared, staring off-screen with an annoyed frown.

"Riiiiiight, so, now that Tucker's gone, let's get back to question number…oh I've lost count already. 'Hey Danny, how do you balance your ghost-fighting life with your college-life, along with your social-life and having a girlfriend? No wonder you're a superhero!' Ha, thanks! Well, it involves lots of all-nighters, and well, Sam and Tucker help me too, so they get most of the credit. Also, the ghost attacks have become less frequent. I think they've realized no one messes with Danny Phantom!" Danny puffed out his chest in mock superiority, only to be deflated by jab of Sam's finger.

"You really need to stop doing that," mumbled Danny, rubbing his side, pretending to be in pain.

"Love you too," crooned Sam, sticking out her tongue.

"But in all seriousness," Danny returned to his attention to the camera, "You just gotta learn how to manage your time well. I've been doing this since I was 14, so I had a lot of trial-and-error…and also a lot of cruddy grades… but I had to learn how to wisely use what time I had left after fighting ghosts. And as I said, I owe a lot to Sam and Tucker, and also my sister Jazz. Shout-out to Jazz, if you're listening! Hi!" Danny waved at the camera, smiling widely. "Okay, next question is… oh, it's actually directed at you Sam! Sammykins, come here!"

"Don't call me that!" hissed Sam, as she appeared on-screen. She carefully put the fly-swatter on the floor.

"Love you too," imitated Danny, also sticking out his tongue, "Here, read the question and answer it for all your adoring fan-boys." He pulled Sam onto his lap in front of him, wrapping his hands around her waist and leaning his head out to look at the screen. "By the way fan-boys, she's still mine," he whispered, staring straight at the camera with warning eyes.

Sam pushed her long jet-black hair away from her face and started reading, "'This one's for Sam! What's your favorite aspect of Danny? And what made you fall in love with him?' Oh, that's a loaded question."

"That's what she said!" Tucker's voice, barely audible, came through from somewhere outside the room.

Sam sighed. Danny frowned. "Wait, what? That doesn't even make sense!"

"Anyways," continued Sam, "Um, my favorite aspect of Danny…" She looked down at him, who quickly made a cute puppy-dog face back at her. Sam laughed at his expression, "He's fiercely loyal, and has the best heart, and is positively cute, wouldn't you agree girls? Okay that was more like three aspects I guess… And um… what made me fall in love with him… All of the above? We were best friends forever, and I loved that he could see past my gothic 'freakiness' and money and sarcasm and whatnot, and still understand me, the real person behind all that." She looked back at Danny, and he made his puppy-dog face again. "And look at that face; how could you not love that face?" Danny turned to the camera, keeping his expression of giant, pleading eyes.

"This is how I get everything I want," Danny whispered.

Sam silently shook her head at the screen and mouthed "noooo". Danny saw her and laughed. "Just kidding, it only works sometimes… Oh look Sam, the next question is for you too! Why do you have to go and steal my thunder?"

"Sorry, bad habit. Okay, so next question… 'Hey Sam, can you tell us an embarrassing story about Danny or Tucker?'" Sam leaned back and laughed, "Oh this is going to be good. Let me think…"

Danny cringed, "This is so unfair."

"One time in high school when Danny was a freshman," Sam began, causing Danny to mutter an "oh man" in terrifying realization.

"Danny had this _huge_ crush on the most popular girl in school," continued Sam, grinning, "And I made him go introduce himself during lunch. But Danny was really nervous, and this caused his ghost-powers to go out of control..."

"Oh not that story! Sam!" Danny ducked behind her, hiding his face.

Sam laughed and leaned to the side, revealing a scared-looking Danny. "He couldn't control his ghost-powers out of his nervousness, and this caused his pants to fall down, right in front of the girl after he introduced himself!"

Danny shielded his face with his hands. "I'm never going to show my face in public again," he mumbled somberly.

"Well, it made a lasting impression that's for sure! And I'm pretty sure all your fans are laughing with you and not at you."

"Hey Danny!" called Tucker from outside the room, apparently listening in while in the kitchen, "Do you still drop your pants around cute girls—I mean—Sam? Do ya do ya?"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Okay, now an extremely embarrassing story about TUCKER," she emphasized his name loudly.

"What? No!" protested Tucker, rushing into the room. He lunged for the computer, but Sam pushed him away, surprisingly—or maybe not; she had always been stronger than him.

"Okay, so during Junior year at Casper," began Sam, trying not to laugh while keeping Tucker at bay, "Tucker had this gigantic crush on the new girl."

"SAAAAAMMM," Tucker wailed, to no avail.

Sam continued, speaking over Tucker, "Anyways, we were at the water park one day, with a lot of other Casper people, including Tucker's crush. He spotted her in the wave pool, and went over to talk. However, I guess his swim trunks weren't tied properly, so once he got in and the wave pulled back—"

"NOOOOOO," Tucker's yelling increased in volume and dramatically drowned out Sam's final words, but Sam and Danny could be heard laughing after his torrential wailing stopped.

"Oh, that was a good one, I can't believe I almost forgot about that one," said Danny, after finally composing himself.

"Now you've scared away all the ladies!" cried Tucker in extreme despair.

"Oh come on, learn to laugh at yourself a bit," replied Sam, slightly exasperated, "You and Danny both!"

"Wait," Danny leaned back slightly so he could turn his face up to Sam's, "So if I showed all my users an embarrassing photo of you, you wouldn't care and would just laugh it off?"

Sam opened her mouth, but then paused. "Well," she began slowly, "It depends on what picture we're talking about…" She slyly raised an eyebrow at Danny, whose face suddenly turned slightly pink.

Tucker gaped at the two of them, and then smirked. "I'm out of here," he said, and walked away.

Danny tore his eyes away from Sam's, and cleared his throat. "Okay anyways, next question…oh finally, one for me! 'If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?'"

"Maybe a chameleon or frog or spider to catch that darned fly?" suggested Sam, remembering their pesky insect problem and leaving Danny's lap to continue the hunt.

"Ha. Ha," replied Danny, laughing sarcastically, "Maybe like an eagle, or something that flies. Flying is way too cool."

"I thought you just said you wanted to be the cat next door so you could just sleep and eat all day," piped up Sam from across the room.

Danny sighed. "Nothing gets past her. Except that fly apparently!"

Sam mumbled something inaudible, which caused Danny to turn around and laugh. He returned to the screen, and scrolled to the next question. "Okay, this question reads 'If you were king of the world for one day, what would you have all each of your friends and family member do for you?' Oh, I like this one! So, Sam," he turned around to look for her in the room, "would probably catch bugs for me all day, unsuccessfully," he added.

"Hey! Don't make me _accidentally_ hit you with this fly swatter!"

"I'm just kidding," said Danny, laughing, "Sam would just hang out with me and be my sweet cute wittle Sammykins smoochums-"

Sam interrupted him, "Oh look, the fly is about to land on your head! I better go and smack it!"

Danny covered his head and ducked, even though Sam was nowhere near his vicinity. "Please don't hurt me!" He cautiously lifted and uncovered his head, and realizing the coast was clear, continued, "Tucker…would play video games with me all day—"

"Hell yea!" called Tucker excitedly.

"—and let me win every single one of them."

"Oh, hell naw!"

"Jazz would…do my homework for me. My mom would cook non-radioactive-ghostly food for me. And my dad…massage my feet?" Danny laughed, "As you can tell I'm a bit out of ideas.

"Okay next question… 'Can you tell us something about you that not many fans know?' Oh hmm…" Danny paused, thinking, "Oh, I know! I'm starting to learn how to play the guitar! When I get better—if I get better-I'll maybe play for a piece or two for you guys! And no I will not sing. I am terrible at singing. But Sam sings! She'll sing for you!"

From behind him came Sam's dry laugh, "Uh huh."

Danny smiled and winked at the camera, "Continuing… 'Is the Ghost Zone where everyone goes when they die? No heaven or hell?' Yea, a bit spooky isn't it? But from the way I see it and from theories generated by myself, Sam, Tucker, my parents—"

Off to the side came a loud WHACK, which made Danny literally jump in his chair and scream some video-edited profanity. "Finally got the fly," laughed Sam, obviously amused at Danny's sudden reaction, "Be right back, I'm going to feed this to Tucker, the carnivore."

Danny muttered something under his breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "Well," he continued, "Now that Sam has accomplished annihilating that fly while nearly giving me a heart-attack—"

Tucker's voice carried over from the background, "Ew, get that away from me!"

"—let me finish answering. The way I see it, the ghosts that reside in the Ghost Zone all have some unfinished business, or obsession that carries on past death, such as the desire to rule the world (which is a pretty common one). Not all of them are evil, or believe the things they do are evil. I think when you die, you have a choice, or are given a choice."

Danny yawned, "Man, I'm tired. Okay, last question, let's find a good one…" He paused as he scrolled through a few, "Oh, I like this one, but I need to hurry and answer it before Sam gets back. It says 'Danny can you tell us something about Sam that no one else knows?' Well, my fans, I'll let you in on a little secret." He leaned in close to the computer and whispered, "Sam dyes her hair! You didn't honestly think black is her natural hair color right? I mean, her mom has blonde hair and her dad has red hair. She's actually a strawberry—"

"DANIEL FENTON! I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!" A dark figure pounced on Danny from the side, tackling him to the floor, and subsequently the video screen blacked out and ended.

* * *

That was strange. I'm not sure what prompted me to do a Youtube-style fan-fic. Coming up with questions was actually the hardest part, believe it or not haha.

I'm not sure what the purpose of the fly was. Maybe because there was an annoying fly in my room when I wrote this.


	7. Warmth

Who's tired of this heat? Here's a little winter piece to keep at least your imagination cool! Christmas in July? Why not!

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, or _Winter Wonderland_.

* * *

**Warmth**

Danny laughed as he and Sam nearly stumbled down the icy-stairs outside his house. His clumsiness seemed to know no seasonal boundaries. The two were in a good mood, having just finished Christmas Eve dinner at the Fentons, and were now bundled up in the warmth of their winter clothes and the memories of the cozy dinner. Danny pulled Sam into an embrace, and even through the chill tingling through his nose, her scent still overwhelmed his senses. He looked down into Sam's dark eyes, glowing and twinkling like the stars above on this clear winter night. Wordlessly, they intertwined their mitten-covered fingers and slowly meandered down the street, with no destination in mind except the enjoyment of each others company.

_Sleigh bells ring, are you listening,  
In the lane, snow is glistening  
A beautiful sight,  
We're happy tonight.  
Walking in a winter wonderland._

The full moon cast its soft light over a frozen world, the snow glistening like millions of diamonds. Cheery holiday lights shined from every home, and mixed with the moonlight to create rubies, emeralds, and sapphires scattered throughout the diamonds. This world of ice and jewels was silent, except the faint voices of a distant carol, singing a slow tune that floated around Danny and Sam.

_Gone away is the bluebird,  
Here to stay is a new bird  
He sings a love song,  
As we go along,  
Walking in a winter wonderland_.

Slowly the two lovebirds found themselves at the park. Its summery green hills were now mounds of pale blue, speckled with footprints from the frolics of children during the day. Sam released her grasp on Danny's hand and ran to the top of the highest hill, stumbling and giggling as Danny tried to catch up. When they reached the top, they found themselves King and Queen of a winter wonderland, and gazed at Amity Park snuggled in the snow. They could see City Hall also, and Danny's statue, protectively holding up a snowy globe.

_In the meadow we can build a snowman,  
Then pretend that he is Parson Brown  
He'll say: Are you married?  
We'll say: No man,  
But you can do the job  
When you're in town._

Sam knelt down and began to scoop snow into a pile. Danny watched her curiously, and then joined in, adding to the pile, and the two slowly created a large snowball. They laughed as they worked under the moonlight, and piled two more balls of snow on top of the first one in decreasing sizes, eventually creating a somewhat unbalanced blank snowman. Sam snapped two twigs off a tree close-by, and presented it to the snowman as crooked arms. Danny stepped forward and dug three holes in the torso in place of coal buttons, and Sam did the same for the eyes, nose, and mouth. The silly grin on its face showed no complaint.

_Later on, we'll conspire,  
As we dream by the fire  
To face unafraid,  
The plans that we've made,  
Walking in a winter wonderland._

Sam laughed at the silly grin she had drawn. She thought for a moment, and then filled in the button-holes Danny had made, and replaced them with a deep DP emblem. She then erased the grin and drew in a serious expression with frowning eyebrows. As a final touch, she created a small snowball and put it in the snowman's left hand, balancing it precariously between twiggy fingers. Danny suddenly realized that she had effectively created a replica of himself and his statue, albeit chubby and lopsided, and broke down in laughter. Sam joined him, and they dropped to the blanket of snow, clutching their sides, and let their laughs be carried away through the frosty air.

_In the meadow we can build a snowman,  
And pretend that he's a circus clown  
We'll have lots of fun with mister snowman,  
Until the other kids knock him down._

Finally, their giggles faded away, but their smiles still remained in their shimmering eyes. Danny was lying down on the snow, with Sam leaning over him, inches away from his face. Danny pushed a stray strand of her hair away from her face, gently brushing aside specks of snow. He slowly lifted himself up, and first tenderly kissed her forehead, and then her pink nose, and finally her lips. And suddenly the winter chill wasn't upon them anymore, as their hearts filled with warmth, and love for each other that would remain through many winter wonderlands.

_When it snows, ain't it thrilling,  
Though your nose gets a chilling  
We'll frolic and play, the Eskimo way,  
Walking in a winter wonderland._

~*~  


* * *

There you have it,

Short and sweet,

And hopefully something

To take your mind off this heat.

Why, you ask,

I am I talking in rhyme?

Good question, I say,

No I'm not.


	8. Phantom Phever

_Warning_: Super-duper squeal-inducing fluff coming up!

Who knew reading fan mail would be so cute? :] This is actually my favorite of the one-shot collection so far. I really want to develop it into a chaptered fic.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. If I did, the show would have never ever ended.

* * *

**Phantom Phever**

To Danny, revealing his secret identity to the world meant freedom. He no longer had to hide who he was from the world and, most importantly, his parents. In addition, his past efforts to save Amity Park were finally recognized, past accusations of wrong-doing were erased, and the entire world bowed before him in gratitude.

However, revealing his secret identity also brought forth a multitude of fans—boys who looked up to him as a real-life superhero, and girls who had swooning obsessions with him, or "Phantom Phever", as they coined it. At first, Danny waved the popularity off, assuming it would never affect his personal life.

But that was before the daily weather forecast changed to sunny, with a 100% chance of fan-mail. (Much to the agonizing dismay of Sam. "Why can't they all just E-mail you? Look at how many trees are being killed!")

Saturday afternoon found Danny and Sam in Sam's basement, sipping smoothies and reading and answering mountains of fan mail in her movie theater. Sam was reclining in one of the plush theater chairs, while Danny sat on the ground, leaning against another chair.

Suddenly, Danny burst out laughing, "Listen to this: _Today I bought a white Betta fish and named him 'Danny' and eventually I'm going to go buy a girlfriend for him and name her 'Sam'!_"

Sam didn't even look up for the letter she was reading. "Sam the female Betta better be dark blue, purple, or black then."

Danny laughed, "I'm going to write back and tell her to buy one in hot pink."

"Bettas don't come in hot pink."

Danny sniffed, pretending to be severely dejected, "My brilliant plan, foiled…"

Sam snorted and grabbed another stack of letters from the floor. "Well these all sound the same," she said, shuffling through the letters, "Date request…date request…date request…marriage proposal? Wow."

Danny chuckled, but continued to read the letter in front of him. "Some girl once asked me to marry her and had written down every detail of the wedding, down to what color the flowers would be and what songs would play."

"That's… intense. Did you respond to her?"

"I told her that I'm too busy fighting ghosts to marry anyone right now." Danny looked up and found Sam raising an eyebrow at him. "What? She was like…10!"

"Anyways, this marriage proposal is from someone older than 10."

"Yeah? How old is Mrs. Wannabe-Fenton-Number-52?"

"34."

Danny, who was in the middle of sipping his smoothie, suddenly choked and sputtered. He put the drink down, coughing and gagging.

Sam glanced at Danny and frowned, "Too old?"

Danny doubled over and placed his hands on the floor, and croaked something inaudible between gasps of air. He finally finished coughing and slumped slowly to the side and onto the floor. "I have no words for that," he mumbled into the carpet.

Sam looked at the crumpled image of Danny and laughed. She put aside the stack of letters and slid down to the floor next to him, grabbing his shoulders and pulling him back into sitting position. Danny automatically wrapped an arm around her waist and she leaned into his shoulder.

"Maybe," said Danny, picking up his cup and looking at it, "Drinking smoothies while reading these letters isn't such a bright idea."

"Hey now, don't blame the innocent smoothie for your accident-prone-ness."

Danny sighed, "No sympathy even from my own girlfriend. Maybe I _should_ accept one of these marriage proposals…"

Sam ignored Danny's pleading puppy eyes and picked up a surprisingly heavy package next to her. "Wow, feels like someone wrote you a novel." She unwrapped the packaging and revealed a hard-cover book, and on the cover was a drawing of Danny Phantom flying through the sky in silver armor with Sam in his arms, who was clad in a deep amethyst princess dress.

"Why am I in a dress…?" muttered Sam. She picked up the sticky-note attached to the cover and read: "_Dear_ _Danny and Sam, I made this during my summer art and writing camp. I hope you like it! Love, Riley_."

"Oh that's neat," said Danny, and he read the title, "_Danny Phantom: A Diamond in the Rough." _He eagerly took the book from Sam's hands and flipped through it. Each page was skillfully illustrated in sketches of color. He flipped back to the first page. "Story time!" Danny grinned and began reading:

_Once upon a time, there lived a princess named Sam. _

"A princess?" cried Sam.

"Shh," said Danny, and resumed reading.

_She was the most beautiful princess in the land, and many fell in love with her, including the palace stable-boy, Danny._

This time, it was Danny's turn to cry out. "A stable-boy?"

"Well, I guess we're even," replied Sam. Danny stuck his tongue at her, but continued.

_But since Sam was a princess, Danny knew he could never be with her. _

"Awww," said Sam. She snuggled closer into Danny's shoulder.

_One day, Sam was captured by evil ghost-fairies and taken to their ghost king in the Ghost Zone, who wanted to marry her. Sam refused, and thinking of tricking the king, said she would only marry the man who could make a diamond float in water. _

_The king was furious, but obliged. He sent out a royal request for a glass of floating diamonds, but no one could stop a diamond from sinking in water._

_Unknown to everyone, Danny was half-ghost, and followed the fairies into the Ghost Zone. He heard the king's request, thought of a plan, and flew to the palace._

"_I can make diamonds float in water," said Danny, as he bowed before the king. _

_Sam stood by the throne, and immediately recognized the voice. Wow, that ghost looks and sounds exactly like Danny the stable-boy! She thought. _

"_Well," growled the evil king, "Let's see it!"_

_Danny brought forth a glass of water in one hand, and held his other hand out, palm up. Suddenly, a sparkling ice-crystal the shape of a diamond formed, and fell into his palm. He took the ice-crystal and dropped it into the glass of water. It floated, and sparkled just like a diamond. _

_The ghost king stood up excitedly, grabbed the glass, and presented it to Sam. "Now, marry me," he demanded._

"_No," said Sam, "I promised that I would marry whoever could make a diamond float in water. You did not make a diamond float in water; he did, so therefore I will marry him." She pointed at Danny, and walked towards him, smiling and taking his hand. _

_And the evil ghost king was so angry that he ripped himself in half. _

_Danny then took Princess Sam back to her kingdom, where they married and lived happily ever after. The End._

Danny closed the book and leaned his cheek against the top of Sam's head. "That was super adorable."

Sam nodded in agreement. Even though she was a princess in the story, she couldn't help but smile. "That was really cleverly written too. This Riley girl has talent."

"I should give all my proposing ladies an impossible task to do as well!" said Danny.

Sam laughed, "Such as…?"

"Oh, I don't know," began Danny, pretending to be lost in thought, "Maybe something like helping me battle ghosts and saving my butt almost every single time?" He kissed the top of Sam's forehead.

"I know of someone that qualifies," said Sam, grinning.

"Hmm?" Danny pushed Sam's hair back behind her ear and kissed her cheek.

"And you two already get along so well." Sam leaned back and Danny breathed into her neck, sending tingles down her spine.

Danny smiled. "So, who's going to be the lucky Mrs. Fenton?" He gently brushed kisses on Sam's jaw-line.

Sam looked up into Danny's eyes with a playful grin, "Well, none other than your best friend—"

Danny smiled and leaned in to kiss Sam on her lips.

"—Tucker!"

Danny was thankful that he wasn't sipping his smoothie at that moment, because he was sure he would have choked so hard he would have become full-ghost.

* * *

:]

Who's giggling madly? I know I am.

_Puddles_ has had over 2,500 hits! Wow! Thank you all for reading! I'll have you know that I was actually drinking water when I stumbled across that, and nearly pulled a Danny.


	9. Phantom Phever: Epilogue

I couldn't help myself :]

If you haven't already, please read _Phantom Phever_ first, or you will be quite lost.

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom.

* * *

**Phantom Phever: Epilogue**

Eight years had passed since Danny Phantom's statue was erected outside Amity Park's City Hall. The stone was slightly worn from years of rain and wind, but it still stood with watchful and determined eyes, protecting the town and world he loved.

Next to City Hall, on a hill overlooking the statue, stood a tree, now bent with age. It swayed lazily in the early evening wind, and watched as two lovers slowly made their way up the hill. As they came closer, the tree recognized the boy. He was the same image as the statue, although much taller and older. The girl whose hand he held was slightly shorter, and her loose raven hair flowed like a river in the breeze. Their laughter trickled up towards the tree, and it rustled its leaves in recognition. _Daniel Fenton and Samantha Manson, long time no see._

"I don't remember this hill being so steep!" huffed Danny, as they finally reached the top. He was carrying a small basket, which he placed down next to the tree's exposed roots.

"That's because you're an old man now! No longer young and spry!" Sam chuckled.

"Because twenty-four is _so_ ancient," replied Danny as he leaned against the tree.

"So, are you going to tell me what's inside that basket?" Sam asked, sitting down on the grass and gazing towards Danny's statue.

"I told you," answered Danny, joining Sam and wrapping an arm around her, "It's my latest fashion statement."

Sam laughed. "And your statement is what? That you're a _basket_-case?"

"Ha. So witty." Danny pulled Sam closer. She automatically leaned her head onto his shoulder, always amazed at how well they fit together, like two star-crossed puzzle pieces. They remained silent for a while, staring across their childhood town. The setting sun cast a warm glow over everything, and Danny's statue blushed a golden-rosy hue.

"You know," mused Sam, breaking the calm silence, "Out of all the statues that we saw around the world, this one is still my favorite."

"And why is that?" asked Danny.

"Because this view holds one of my favorite memories." Sam looked up and Danny and softly smiled.

"Ah," nodded Danny, "Oh, and speaking of memories…" He leaned over and opened the basket. Sam curiously glanced over and tried to peer into its secrets, but Danny quickly withdrew something and closed the basket again. "Do you remember this?" He placed the slender object on Sam's lap.

Sam picked it up and grinned. "Of course! I remember you got this one day with your fan mail, and we read it together…" She brushed a finger over the title of the book, _Danny Phantom: A Diamond in the Rough_. She opened it allowed the breeze to flip through the pages, revealing a kaleidoscope of color. "One of my favorite stories, actually…"

"You know, I've never tried to make a diamond float in water before," said Danny.

"But of course they do; ice always floats in water," pointed out Sam, closing the book.

"Not an ice-crystal," Danny explained, "But a _real_ diamond. Close your eyes, Sam."

Sam smiled curiously. _Something was up_. "Why?"

"I have a surprise for you," Danny merely said, and gently put his hand over Sam's eyelids, coaxing them shut.

"So that basket is not just a fashion-statement after all! I was right!"

Danny grinned, but remained silent. He transformed into Danny Phantom, and reached into the basket, all the while keeping an eye on Sam. A soft smile danced on her pink lips, and the breeze had blown her hair back to reveal a beauty that still stunned Danny every single time. He stood up, hiding what was in his hand behind his back.

"Sam, stand up," he said gently, holding her hand with his free one and helping her stand. "You can open your eyes now." Sam's eyes opened and she stared at Danny in ghost-form before her. Before she could open her mouth, Danny began talking.

"Eight years ago on this very day, I told you that I didn't know what was coming next, but whatever it was, you would be there to share it with me," began Danny, nervously. "And…I was wondering…if you would share 'forever' with me too." At with that, he knelt down on one knee, and presented Sam with a clear wine-glass half-full of water.

Sam took the glass, speechless. Floating on top sparkled a large ice-crystal in the shape of a diamond. She lifted it out the water, and it immediately melted to reveal the most beautiful diamond ring, shimmering from the light of the setting sun.

Danny picked up the ring and gently slid it onto Sam's finger. "Princess Sam," he began, and Sam's eyes filled with tears, "I am but a humble stable-boy…but would you marry me?"

The wine-glass dropped and bounced forgotten on the soft grass, and immediately Sam flung her arms around Danny, and both of them came crashing down onto the ground. Sam kissed Danny; a kiss that spoke by itself the years of shared memories, and the years of shared memories to come, and Danny knew he had his answer.

When the stars peeped out from under their velvet blanket, the two lovebirds packed up their belongings. And with one last look at the statue of Danny Phantom, they descended down the hill, hand in hand, and heart in heart.

And the tree smiled to see them go, and waved its branches against the twinkling night sky. _And they lived happily ever after. The end._

* * *

Can I get a collective "Awwwwwwwwwww"? And some popcorn for that fluffy cotton-candy, or maybe just a giant _cheese_cake.

I know it's short, and probably not as descriptive as I like it to be, but my brain kind of feels fried today for some reason.

I'm working on another DP fic, and I posted the 1st chapter as "Loose Ends". I'll post the fic soon too, as soon as I think of a title. It keeps escaping my (fried) brain. (Small summary of it is in my profile, if anyone's curious)

Please review! Thanks :D


	10. Smile

Dedicated to all the wonderful boyfriends out there that try really hard to make their girls smile when we fall into our random bad-moods :]

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, or The Peter Panda Dance, haha.

* * *

**Smile**

Sam was having a really bad day.

Danny could tell the moment he walked into her room. He found her sleeping, which in itself really wasn't a tell-tale sign of her current mood, but the fact that it was only four in the afternoon gave him every indication that a certain Goth-girl wasn't very happy. Sam never took naps during the day, even if she had been up all night. The only time she would burrow inside her covers and block out the daytime world was if she was trying drown away something unpleasant with her dreams.

Danny sighed and quietly slipped under the warm covers next to her. Sam was turned away from him, and he gently stroked her hair, waiting for his sleeping beauty to come back to reality. After a few minutes, Sam stirred, and groggily turned over to stare at Danny with an upset expression.

"Hi Sammy," Danny murmured, kissing her lightly on the nose, "What's wrong?"

In response, Sam continued to turn and smashed her face into her pillow, mumbling something incoherent.

Danny propped himself up with his elbow, and ran his fingers up and down Sam's back. "Come on sweetie, don't be like that. Tell me who or what I have to haunt this time for making you upset."

Sam just continued to grumble into her pillow.

Danny sighed again. "Did Paulina hide your clothes during Gym again?"

Mumble mumble.

"Did Dash do something stupid that ended up with you getting in trouble?"

Grumble.

"Did Mr. Lancer refuse to let you write another poem for the literature contest?"

Urg.

"Um, did your parents force you to go shopping with them?"

Blurg.

"Did they change the lunch menu to all-meat dishes?"

Mmmpphh.

"Aw, at least talk to me in English? I can't understand your Sam-mumblies-and-grumblies."

Sam huffed, and turned back to Danny. Her eyes were still closed, but she reached out, and mumbled something else. Danny reached over to put one arm under Sam, pulling her into an embrace with his other. Sam responded by folding her arms against Danny's chest and snuggling deeply into his shoulder.

Danny kissed Sam's forehead. "Come on Sammy, tell me what's wrong, please? You're making me sad because you're sad and won't tell me what's making you sad."

Sam responded by grabbing a fistful of Danny's shirt with one hand and burrowed deeper into his chest.

Danny sighed, again. "Okay if you don't want to tell me what's wrong, please cheer up? You're making this halfa very sad." He waited for a response, but Sam continued to feign sleep. "Do I need to sing you a silly song in order to make you smile? You know I'm just as bad as Tucker when it comes to singing!" No response again. Danny grinned. "Okay, you've been warned!" He started gently rolling back and forth to with Sam in his arms, and began, "_When you're feeling low, lower than the floor, and you feel like you ain't got a chance. Don't make a move till you're in the groove, and do the Peter Panda Dance! Hop three times like a kangaroo. Side-step twice just like those crabs do. Three steps forward, one step back! Quick like a turtle, lie on your back! Roll like a log till you can't roll no more. Hop up quick like there ain't no floor. Hold your breath, and jump to the left! And that's the Peter—I swear that's the Peter—that's the Peter Panda Dance!_"

Danny finished singing (or more like just saying the words with an attempt at a tune) and looked down at Sam. She was pouting, and he could tell she was trying hard not to smile. "I know you want to smile," Danny teased, trying to bring Sam's chin up so she could face him. Instead, Sam nuzzled her face into his shoulder with a loud whimper that suspiciously sounded like a giggle.

Danny chuckled. "Okay, how about I get Tucker to come over and sing the Peter Panda Dance for you?"

"Nuu," said Sam into Danny's chest.

"Ahh, so you _do_ remember how to talk in English!"

"Puuuu," continued Sam.

"Poo? You're upset because you have to go poo?" joked Danny.

"Huuuu."

"Huuu…stole the cookie from the cookie jar? Someone stole a cookie from you?" Danny continued to be silly, trying anything to coax a grin or laugh from Sam.

"Muuuuuu."

"Are you trying to be a cow? Did someone call you a cow? Aw, don't worry Sammy, you're more of a hippo than a cow anyways."

Sam finally raised her head and pouted at Danny. "Hmph."

Danny leaned down and kissed Sam on her pouty lips. "I'm just kidding. You're way cuter than a hippo."

Sam just sniffed and frowned.

Danny sighed. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Danny raised his arm. "I'll let you tickle me."

Sam paused, and then tentatively reached her hand over and briefly ran her fingers down Danny's side. He let out a small giggle. Sam couldn't help it; the edges of her lips tugged into a small smile, and she ran her fingers down his side again, but this time she stopped at his waist and wiggled her fingers. Danny squirmed and exploded in laughter. "Okay okay" gasped Danny between laughs, "Stop stop!" He lowered his arm.

Sam let out a small chuckle and her arm retreated.

"There," said Danny grinning at Sam, "A smile at the expense of my dignity."

"Hehe."

"You're so silly." Danny pulled Sam closer and hugged her. "Oh the things I do to make you smile…"

* * *

:]

I suck at coming up with titles, by the way, if you haven't noticed already.

I'm running out of ideas for one-shots, so feel free to send me any plot ideas through a review!

And if you want more fluff (mixed in with some action!) be sure to check out my newest fic, _Phantom Martyr_. It's like watching Season 4 of DP!


	11. Heat

Disclaimer: I do not own Danny Phantom.

I decided to take a short break from writing the dark and dismal parts of _Phantom Martyr_ and write something light-hearted and cute instead. It's pretty short; this took me only like 15 minutes. Hope you enjoy!

**(Pre-_Phantom Planet_, so this is before Danny and Sam's relationship)**

* * *

**Heat**

Sam hated summer.

She hated the sun that shone for more than twelve hours a day, which was twelve hours too many. She hated the heat that caused her to crawl reluctantly out of her comfortable black clothes to lighter pieces, and painfully swap her boots for sandals. She hated how it brought all the plastic shallow I-need-to-show-off-as-much-skin-as-possible girls out of hibernation. She hated how the black leather seats of her car turned into branding irons, and how she had to learn how to drive with two fingers because the steering wheel felt like a frying pan. She hated how bright and cheery everything was.

She also hated how a current heat wave was ravaging Amity Park, and turned the city into a pressure-cooker. Heat, purely on its own as a concoction of the sun, was manageable. However, when mixed with humidity, then things became evil, and not in the good way. Sam hated the sticky feeling of what felt like a second, uncomfortable skin, layered with oil and dirt, which not even a cold shower could free her from.

But most of all, she hated how she was currently at the water park, wearing nothing but a two-piece bikini and steaming under the towel she had protectively wrapped around herself.

"Sam!" called Danny from the pool, shaking his wet bangs from his eyes, "Stop being so reclusive and join us!"

"Yeah!" agreed Tucker, pouncing at a stray pool noodle, "I'm pretty sure you're baking like a burrito in that towel."

Sam just glared at them with the same searing intensity that was roasting her. The only reason she was here was because she owed Danny and Tucker a favor, but had she known this was the payment they had in mind, she would have rather jumped off a cliff. And the only reason she was wearing this disgustingly skimpy two-piece was because her one-piece has mysteriously disappeared. She shot Danny another menacing look. He caught her eye and merely winked, before diving down to touch the bottom of the pool. He surfaced a moment later, and headed for the edge.

"Okay, be right back!" he called to Tucker as he climbed out. He then turned to Sam, whose face was either flushed from the heat, or from the sight of Danny in nothing but swim trunks and glistening from the water. "And you, Miss Burrito, better be in the pool before I come back."

Sam snorted. "Or else what? You're going to steal this bathing suit too?"

Danny merely grinned and walked away. Sam eyed him as he left, and then turned back to the pool. She raised her hand to shield her eyes from the glares of the sun and searched the edges for a seat, preferably with shade. She was quite attached to her pale and flawless complexion; there was no way she was going to let the sun give her—

"AAAAHHH!" Sam suddenly found someone's arms wrapped around her, and her screams were silenced when she crashed into the cool depths of the water. Her towel fell away and the sudden coldness of the water hit her like a lightning bolt and severed all her thoughts—except one: revenge on the pathetic soul who had the nerve to do this to her. She finally surfaced, and turned to find Danny's laughing face inches away from her own.

"DANIEL FENTON! WHY…!" yelled Sam, furiously wiping away her hair from her face.

Danny stuck out his tongue. "I did warn you."

Sam's breaths came in rapid angry huffs, but she was at a loss of words. She merely just stared at Danny's eyes with what she hoped was a fuming look, boring into the depths of those clear blue eyes. Danny just grinned goofily back, mesmerized by the glistening drops of water on Sam's eyelashes, framing and further intensifying the heated look in those purple orbs. They remained like that for a few moments before Tucker cleared awkwardly cleared his throat.

That was when Sam realized Danny's warm arms were still wrapped tightly around her bare waist and back. She was pressed so tightly against Danny's chest that what she thought were her heartbeats beating feverishly were actually his own. Danny realized their current situation also, and the two quickly separated, blushing hotly and staring off into opposite directions.

Tucker smirked. "_Danny and Sam, standing in a pool, k-i-s-s-i-n-g!_"

Sam and Danny glanced at each other, and both slowly grinned.

"You grab his feet and I'll get his shoulders?" suggested Sam.

"Deal," agreed Danny, comically cracking his knuckles.

They turned back to Tucker, who quickly realized his fate and splashed as fast as he could in the opposite direction, shrieking about the injustices of the world. Danny and Sam quickly lunged after him, laughing.

Sam remembered the feeling of Danny's arms around her, and decided that perhaps she could stand a chance to hate summer just a little less. Not all types of heat were bad…

* * *

The high for tomorrow where I live is 108 degrees F. I'm going to act out this fic and definitely jump into the pool.

And don't worry, I'm half-way done with Chapter 5 of _Phantom Martyr_!


	12. PhantomTV: Episode 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom, or Twitter, or Youtube, or any of the TV shows or magazines or products or songs mentioned.

**Setting:** Same as the first _PhantomTV_—Danny, Sam, and Tucker are rooming together in house during their college days.

* * *

**PhantomTV: Episode 2**

"Hey everyone!" Danny smiled brightly at the camera, "Welcome back to PhantomTV! So, you know that little random video I posted last time of me answering questions that you all sent in through my Twitter? Well, so many of you have been asking for a second one, so here it is! And…I have two special guests joining us today!" Danny backed away from the camera to reveal Sam and Tucker sitting on the couch behind him. "Yup, the whole gang's here to answer your questions!"

"This is what we do on Saturday nights," said Sam, holding up a giant bowl of popcorn, and scooting over to allow Danny to sit next to her. "We chill in our PJs and make Youtube videos."

"Well, unless I'm out on a date with one of my numerous beautiful ladies," said Tucker, wiggling his eyebrows at the camera. Sam rolled her eyes, and threw a piece of popcorn at him. He ignored her comment but tossed the popcorn into his mouth.

"You know popcorn is technically a vegetable," pointed out Sam.

Tucker continued chewing. "I'm going to pretend you never said that…"

"Anyways!" said Danny, stretching towards the coffee table and grabbing a piece of paper, "Out of the many _many_ questions sent in to my Twitter—thank you all, by the way; I had a blast reading them—I chose ten that could be answered by all three of us, and here they are." He waved the paper, and leaned back into the couch, stretching an arm behind Sam. "So, without further ado, question one! 'What would each of you do in a zombie apocalypse?' Tuck, you first."

"I would eat them before they could eat me!" Tucker bared his teeth and pretended his hands were claws as he slashed the air in front of him. "Rawr! Battle of the carnivores!"

Sam's hand stopped midway from popping another piece of popcorn into her mouth, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Really. You're just going to _eat_ your way out of a zombie apocalypse."

Tucker stopped his impersonation of a T-Rex and turned to Sam. "Yeah, sure, why not?"

Sam shrugged and the popcorn resumed its path to her mouth. "Nothing," she replied between chews, "Nice knowing you though."

Tucker snorted. "And what are _you_ going to do, kill them with your sarcasm?"

"No," said Sam, "I would instead go and lock myself up in a super-store that has lots of food, water, and weapons, and just wait until the zombies rot away on their own accord."

"Zombies don't rot away! Have you not _seen_ any of the zombie movies? They stick around forever!"

"And you obviously have not heard of bacteria, or worms, or anything regarding decomposition for that matter!"

"Well," interrupted Danny, "We would definitely not survive long if you two argue like that during a zombie invasion. You're loud enough to wake the dead!" He paused, smiling goofily. "Get it? Wake the dead? Zombies?"

Sam and Tucker paused and turned their heads slowly towards Danny and just stared at him. His smile disappeared and he cleared his throat. "Yea, I know, that was lame…" He shifted in his seat. "Um, anyways… my turn! I would totally just stay in my ghost form and blast them all to bits and save the day!" He sat up straight and placed his hands on his hips valiantly.

"That's not fair," said Sam, "Pretend you didn't have your ghost-powers. Then what would you do?"

"Um…run away…screaming…" Danny sighed. "Okay, moving on, question two. Here Sam, you can read it."

Sam took the paper from Danny and crossed her legs underneath her. "Okay, 'Twilight, or Harry Potter?' Oh wow," she laughed, "I do love vampires, but Bram Stoker's Dracula is my man. Sorry Twihards."

"Hmm," began Tucker, tilting his head and staring at the ceiling, "It's _way_ too hard to have to choose between Nikki Reed and Emma Watson…"

"Wait," said Danny, frowning, "…What's Twilight…?

"Annnnd that's our cue for question number three!" Sam passed the paper to Tucker.

Tucker grabbed the questions from Sam and cleared his throat dramatically, "Today's third question of the day, read by the one and only charming Tucker Foley is: 'What would you do if you won a million dollars?' Well ladies, I would first take every single one of you out to a fancy dinner of steak and lobster and fine wine, and then we would go to the hottest nightclub in the city and arrive in style in my newly purchased Aston Martin V12 Zagato—"

"Dude, that car costs like fifty-three hundred grand!" interrupted Danny.

"And there's only going to be 150 made in the entire world."

Tucker and Danny gawked at Sam, not believing what she had said. She just stared back nonchalantly. "What?"

"Since when were you into cars?" asked Danny.

"Yea," agreed Tucker, grinning, "I thought you hated anything that gushed out harmful carbon dioxide into the environment."

Sam rolled her eyes and leaned forward to grab the pile of magazines on the coffee table, and then tossed them into Tucker's lap. "Since your _Car & Driver_ magazines starting taking over this house and I got bored that one weekend you and Danny went off for a 'Guys-Only-Trip'. But if I won a million dollars I sure wouldn't waste half of it on some silly car. I'd probably donate most of it to the World Wildlife Fund and charities promoting sustainable living and a greener environment."

Danny and Tucker glanced at each other, neither of them surprised at Sam's answer to the fan question.

"Your turn Danny," nudged Sam.

"Well, If I had a million dollars," answered Danny, "I would probably give my parents a portion for Fenton Works, um, use some to pay off college…and then save the rest."

"So pragmatic," lauded Sam, "I guess that's why I like you so much."

"No, you like me because I cuddle with you at night during loud thunderstorms," winked Danny, earning a playful smack to the arm from Sam.

"You're the one terrified of thunder, not I," scoffed Sam.

Danny grinned. "Doesn't matter; just another excuse to snuggle with my Sammykins."

Tucker silently gagged at the camera. "This is what I have to put up with," he whispered.

Sam stuck her tongue out at Tucker. "Well, _we_ have to put up with your quote-unquote singing, so all's fair."

Danny took the questions from Tucker and shook his head. "And _I_ have to put up with your arguments…Anyways, question four: 'Do you have any weird or bad habits? If so, what are they?'"

"We should totally answer these for each other!" exclaimed Sam, "I'll start by saying one for Tucker."

"Oh no…" muttered Tucker off to the side.

"Tucker here," began Sam, "has this really annoying habit of taking off his socks after class on the couch and just leaving them for other people to discover."

"I do not!" protested Tucker, feigning shock.

"Are you kidding me?" Sam pointed to the left, somewhere off camera, "There's a pair right on that armchair over there!"

"Okay maybe I do…" Tucker got up and grabbed the socks, and then tucked them behind him once he sat back down on the couch.

"You better not forget those," warned Sam.

Tucker sent a pleading glance at Danny. "Please tell me she has a terrible bad habit too, so she can get off my case."

Danny laughed and held up a hand. "Well, not really, but Sam does like to constantly eat Hershey's Kisses when she reads in bed and then ball up the wrappers and leave them _literally all over_ her nightstand."

Sam turned to Danny and raised an eyebrow. "How is that weird?"

"It _looks_ weird, like…some metallic bunny pooped all over your nightstand, or something."

Tucker snickered. "Or Skulker took a dump."

Sam glowered at Tucker. "At least Skulker _can_ take a dump! Your all-meat diet and lack of fiber is really—"

"Okayyyy then!" Tucker quickly shouted over Sam, "And now for Danny's weird habit! Drum-roll please!" He paused and started stomping his feet rhythmically on the carpeted floor. "Danny Phantom, savior of the world and superhero, sleep-walks!"

"What?" exclaimed Danny, straightening and staring incredulously at Tucker, "I do not!"

"Uh, yea you do," replied Tucker and Sam simultaneously.

"Since when?"

"Not sure, but ever since we all roomed together, you've been roaming around at night probably once a week," answered Sam. "Oh, and you also snore in your sleep sometimes," she added quietly.

"Wait," Danny frowned at Tucker, "How would _you_ know that I sleepwalk?"

"Midnight snack-runs, duh!" explained Tucker simply. "It takes a lot of time and energy to perfect this sculpted body." He raised both arms to his side and flexed, wiggling his eyebrows at the camera.

Danny frowned and relaxed back into the couch. "Huh, wow, I guess this video is both enlightening for the fans _and_ me. What do I do when I sleepwalk?"

"Um, nothing interesting really," replied Tucker, thinking, "You just kind of roam around the house for a few minutes. You do look kind of freaky though, since your eyes are open and all...nearly gave me a heart attack the first time I saw you. I almost dropped my precious plate of bacon!"

"You pounced on me once when I was sleeping," added Sam, picking through the bowl of popcorn casually. Once the words left her mouth, however, she looked up and blushed. "Right, that came out weird didn't it…" She quickly grabbed the question sheet from Danny—who was looking both flabbergasted and slightly sheepish—and changed the topic. "Alright then, let's move on. The next question is for me and Tucker, and says, 'If you had ghost-powers like Danny, what would your super-hero alias be?'"

Tucker rested his feet on the coffee table and leaned back pensively. "You know, I've actually never thought about that. Um…Foley Phantom?"

Sam laughed. "That sounds really cheesy."

"Oh whatever—" Tucker paused, racking his brain, "—Specter Sam!"

"Fruitcake Foley!"

"Sandwich-Making Sam!"

"What!"

"You guys are lame," complained Danny, "And plus, no one can come up with an alias more awesome than 'Danny Phantom'!"

"Man, I concur," said Tucker, taking the question sheet from Sam, "Fruitcake Foley? Ugh no thanks. Next question is…'If you were all in a band, what would each person's role be, and what would your band name be called?'"

"Tucker would definitely _not_ be the lead singer," Sam answered quickly, much to Tucker's comical dismay.

"You should be the lead singer Sam," suggested Danny, moving his arm around her and smiling, "You're really good."

"Aw thanks," replied Sam, looking up at Danny, "And you should be the guitarist, since you're learning how to play and all."

"Hey what about me?" asked Tucker, waving at them.

Danny and Sam looked at each other and grinned.

"Drums?" suggested Danny.

"Nah," said Sam, "Xylophone?"

"Triangle?"

"Maracas?"

"Yes!" laughed Danny, "Maracas!"

Tucker crossed his arms exasperatedly. "_Maracas?_"

"Hey, I should play the maracas too and—" Danny could hardly finish his sentence from laughing so hard, "—and it'll just be Sam singing and—" He gave up, and utterly caved into a fit of laughter at the image. "Oh man…"

"Wait, we still need a band name!" reminded Sam.

"How about," began Danny, still chuckling, "'The Phantom, the Fruitcake, and the Sandwich-Maker'?"

Sam grabbed the pillow behind her and threw it at Danny.

"_Fruitcake?_" cried Tucker, passing the question sheet to Danny, "Aw man, I don't like this game."

Danny chuckled. "It's okay you'll like the next question. 'Who or what were you obsessed with as a child?'" He caught Tucker's eye, and they both yelled out, "GO GO POWER RANGERS!"

"Yeaahhh!" Tucker hi-fived Danny over Sam.

Sam went back to munching on her popcorn. "I was sort of obsessed with Mighty Ducks as a kid," she said.

"What?" said Tucker, disappointed, "No morphin' time for you!"

"I always thought Tanya and Mallory were _way_ cooler than the Pink or Yellow Rangers."

Tucker gasped noisily and clutched his chest dramatically, and then pretended to faint. He pointed to the ceiling and muttered, "It's okay Pink Ranger. You will always be my first crush, _always_."

Sam raised an eyebrow at the scene. "So melodramatic." She took the question sheet from Danny and began reading the next question. "Question eight says, 'What's something weird that totally freaks you out?' Oh man, I can't stand it when small children just _stare_ and _stare_ at you." She tossed the paper to Tucker—who was still lying down in a pile of pillows and staring at the ceiling—and it floated down onto his chest. "I don't know…it just always creeps me out, which is weird, since _nothing_ should creep me out…"

"Speaking of _staring_," began Danny, "Porcelain dolls freak me out, and how their glassy eyes just look at you, like they know where you live…and where you sleep…" He shuddered. "Bleehhh!"

"What about you Tuck," Sam poked his arm with her finger, "Other than someone saying the Pink Ranger isn't cool."

Tucker sat up and stuck out his tongue at Sam. "The fruit and vegetable section at the grocery store! And salad bars."

Sam sighed. "Of course."

"Okay all this popcorn is making me _really_ thirsty," said Danny, standing up, "You guys want anything to drink too?"

"Yea, can I get water?" answered Sam, "Thanks."

"And can I get a chocolate-chip-ice-cream-milk-shake with extra whipped cream?" added Tucker.

Danny paused and raised an eyebrow at Tucker, who grinned and said, "I'm just kidding. Water's fine for me too."

"Ask the next question, Tuck!" yelled Danny as he disappeared off camera.

"Yes sir!" Tucker picked the paper off his chest and read, "'Have you guys ever pulled pranks on each other? If so, what were the best ones?'"

Sam chuckled. "Totally! Tucker, do you remember that one time—"

Tucker sighed. "Yes..."

"—when I took a screen-shot of your desktop, and put it as your wallpaper, and then hid all your icons? And you _totally_ freaked out because you thought your mouse was broken? That was great…"

"Whatever," said Tucker turning to the camera, "I got back at her the next morning though. I put clear plastic wrap over her doorframe, and she walked groggily right into it when she woke up." He laughed. "I have it all on camera too! Maybe I should share the tape with you guys…but it does have a lot of swearing in it…"

Sam just glared at Tucker. "You wouldn't dare…!"

"I'm a nice boy," said Danny, returning with three mugs of water, and grinning at the camera, "I don't play pranks on anyone."

"I can just imagine your fan-girls swooning all over another added point to your perfection." Sam playfully batted her eyelashes at Danny, pretending to be absolutely mesmerized by his presence.

"But _you're_ my number one fan," replied Danny, and he quickly kissed an unsuspecting Sam on the lips.

Tucker stared at them and shook his head. "I'm going to just finish and read this last question so you two can go and do that somewhere else," he said, smirking, "The last—but certainly not least—question of the day says, 'What is your current favorite song?'" Tucker paused and turned his gaze to the camera. "Well, ladies, my current favorite song goes a little something like this…" He jumped off the couch, threw his hands crazily into the air, and starting bellowing, "PARTY ROCK IS IN THE HOOOUUUUSE TONIIIIGHT! EVERYBODY JUST HAVE A GOOD TIIIIIME!"

Danny and Sam grimaced at each other, and then shrugged before also jumping off the couch and joining the impromptu dance party. "AND WE GONNA MAKE YOU LOOOOSE YOUR MIND! EVERYBODY JUST HAVE A GOOD TIME!"

Danny moon walked to the front of the camera leaned towards it with a grin. "And that concludes our Episode Two of PhantomTV! Thanks for watching! Phantom out! It's party rock time!" He winked, and turned off the camera.

* * *

Lol. That was fun. If you guys really like these, I can write more, and if you have any questions for our favorite gang, post them in a review!

**UPDATE 9/3: PhantomTV is now its own chaptered fic! What are you waiting for? Go go go!**

(I totally blanked out on what Maracas were called, so I asked my boyfriend for help by giving him a description of it, and you know what he answered? "Morocco!" Um… that's a country.)

(_Party Rock Anthem_ is by LMFAO if anyone's wondering.)


	13. Pyrite

Disclaimer: I don't own Danny Phantom. Rawr.

Just a little drabble-eque-thingamobobber. No fluff or humor, sorry :( I just had to get this out of my system though.

* * *

**Pyrite**

After they graduated from Casper High, Danny lost track of Valerie for a few years. Then one day, he was pleasantly surprised to receive an email from her, inviting him out to lunch. He accepted, and found himself with an old friend, laughing and reminiscing about their high-school days. Somehow, the topic morphed around the A-listers: Dash, Kwon, Paulina, Star…

"You know why Dash hated you?" said Valerie, twirling at her salad.

"Um, because I was a loser?" Danny chuckled.

"No, because he was jealous of you."

"Really? _Dash_? The football and basketball captain, jealous of _me_?"

"He wasn't jealous of your status in high-school, he was jealous of _you_. He was jealous of the friendship you had with Tucker and Sam, and how you could be yourself with them. He was jealous that you never cared what other people thought of you."

"Huh. Well, I did go through a phase during freshman year when I wanted so badly to be popular."

"But in the end you gave that up."

"Yeah, I realized the true meaning of friendship, and felt like a jerk abandoning Tucker and Sam to go to one of Dash's parties…"

"See, that's the thing. Dash never knew what _true_ friendship was." Valerie paused and starting rolling a cherry tomato back and forth on her plate with her fork. "He was always popular, but being in the A-list didn't necessarily mean they were all friends. It was a ridiculous group composed of fake people more concerned about their outer—rather than inner—image. Dash never had what you had with Tucker and Sam."

"That's really what it was like to be…popular?"

"Sadly, sometimes, yes. I was one of them at first, so I should know. It was all about image. But at the end of the day when something terrible happens, you have no one to lean on. Just because they let you sit with them at lunch and talk with you, doesn't mean they'll be there for you when things go downhill. Everything was about outward image, and if anything was in danger of tainting their perfect reputations, they would ignore it without a moral debate."

"But they seemed to enjoy each other's company all the time…"

"Because they had no one else. Everyone else either hated them, were afraid of them, or couldn't be bothered to stick around to learn more about them."

Danny leaned back and thought about her words. "I guess that does make sense… So what about Paulina? Was she jealous of…Sam, or something?"

Valerie laughed. "Nah," she replied, "Paulina was just truly narcissistic in nature, and really thought no one could be as flawless as her. She really did look down upon people with a one-dimensional reason." She paused, and then added, "But you know who _was_ jealous of Sam…"

Danny grinned. This was just _too_ interesting. "And who would that be?"

"I was."

Danny merely gawked at the girl sitting across from him. "_You?_ Really?"

Valerie shrugged and looked away, slightly embarrassed. "Well, I did like you…a lot. And well, I envied the closeness she had with you—has—with you," she corrected herself, "And even when we dated briefly that one time freshman year, in the back of my mind I always knew Sam would be the girl you would go home to at the end of the day." She looked back at Danny. "If you know what I mean…What she possessed was what I had always dreamed of having…"

"Um…"

"No, not what you're thinking!"

"How do you know what I was thinking?"

Valerie simply smiled and pointed her fork at Danny. "_That_. I was jealous of _that_."

Danny stared at her fork, confused. "You were jealous of…my chest…?"

Valerie snorted and continued, "No! I was jealous of how she could always tell what you were thinking, and how she could finish your sentences for you, because you two were such close friends."

"Oh…"

"And I guess I was just a _tiny_ bit jealous of the fact that she became your girlfriend, and not me." Valerie gave Danny a small lighthearted smile.

Danny chuckled. "And so are a lot of other girls in this world, apparently…" He looked away for a second, thinking, and then wondered out loud, "What would have made Dash stop…hating me in high school then?"

Valerie shrugged. "I think…if you had become friends with him."

"Easier said than done!"

"Yeah but…I think he just wanted to be understood for who he was, and not what he was." Valerie paused and started spinning the tomato in circles with her fork. "Humans are social creatures—we crave company and can't thrive without it. But humans are also loving creatures, and we also crave the bond that exists between families and true friendships. Without it, we fall apart, and people become angry and depressed, which turns slowly into all the hate we see today."

Danny nodded slowly. "That's um, wow, that was deep."

Valerie laughed. "Sorry. Psychology major. Can't help but babble sometimes."

"So," Danny leaned back into his chair, smiling, "I guess the lesson learned today is that popularity really isn't what it's cracked out to be?"

"Yup," agreed Valerie, "It's so much better just to be yourself."

"By the way, you've been playing with that tomato for the past ten minutes, are you _ever_ going to eat it?"

* * *

_Avoid popularity if you would have peace._ – Abraham Lincoln

Popularity—a fool's gold.


End file.
